Thursday, 13 February 2014

Tarquin, Mungo & Splash

A Letter From The Outer Hebrides

Tarquin is
settling in with Mungo and Splash well...between the two of us it will
do the boys well to have a more learned and calming influence amidst
them. The younger ones are doing well and in recent months have been
busying themselves around the house making holts out of any scraps of
material, newspapers and the throw cushions from the sofa. Mungo is
continuously devising cunning schemes of adventure, that can only be
belayed by trips away to Harris, Eriskay and Barra...and once they are
on the beach they run riot, frolicking amongst the kelp and weeds,
watching the rockpools and rings of bright water, fishing, eating pond
weed and trying to make friends with the other otter families...which
does not always bode well. Poor little Splash does not understand why
the other otters feel threatened by him and his brother, but I have
tried to explain the nature of wild otter communities many times, bless
him. It snowed yesterday and I came home to find them on the window sill
looking up, on asking what they were up too..."looking for Mr
Christmas" the replied came. Silly things. I think the move for us from
Hampstead (albeit they loved their freedom on the heath) to the Outer
Hebrides has done the family (adults included) wonders, although we are
all longing for the summer, and long bright days stretched out on the
Machair.